I Won't Tell
by TheHungerGamesFan01
Summary: During Mockingajay, Gale departs on a mission to rescue Peeta, Johanna, and Annie. What happens when he finds the famous Johanna Mason in a cold cell, bruised and battered? A spark of compassion for the girl who won't give in. She's a fighter. ONESHOT.


I shift anxiously on my seat inside of the hovercraft taking us to the Capitol to rescue Peeta and the others, thinking back to when Coin asked me to be a part of the mission.

I stride through the hallways flooded with artificial light, headed for President Coin's office. I grimace as I breathe in; the stuffiness of the underground place still bothers me. No fresh air and sunlight like I'm accustomed too. I stop by a door at the end of the hall and rap once on the dark wood. The grim face of Coin appears as the door opens and she gestures for me to come in. I enter the room and scan my sharp eyes around it. I have never been in President Coin's office before; only top people like Plutarch and some other top officers are allowed access to it. Coin sits down on her swivel chair behind her mahogany desk and motions for me to sit in front of the desk. I look at her curiously as I sit, wondering what in Panem she wants me for.

As if she's reading my thoughts, Coin speaks up.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here."

"Yes ma'am." I reply.

She positions her elbows on the desk and presses the tips of her fingers together, making a triangle. "I just wanted to let you know that a team is being sent on a mission for the rescue of Peeta Mellark, Johanna Mason, and Annie Cresta. Would you like to be a part of it?" she asks bluntly.

I lean forward and look at her intensely. "When do we leave?"

A ghost of a smile plays on her lips. "I thought you'd feel that way. Be prepared to leave by five-o-clock tonight." President Coin stands up and offers her hand.

I shake it and start for the door. "You can consider the job done, Madam

President."

The sound of Boggs, the captain of this mission, breaks the memory. "Landing in ten minutes," he yells loudly over the sound of the hovercraft engine. "Gather your gear." I stand quickly along with the rest of the team and start strapping on my equipment. Next to me, Doctor Flagg grunts under the weight of his heavy pack filled with medical supplies the man insisted on taking with.

Opposite me, Sergeant Crisp is bent over, picking a gun and slinging the strap over his shoulder. He meets my eye and nods sharply. "Ready soldier?" I mimic his nod and get in position to jump out of the hovercraft onto the roof of the building below where they are being held captive. Somehow Beetee tracked where they are. I really don't have a clue how he did it, I just know that the guy's a genius.

Boggs gathers the team and looks us in the eyes. "Okay," he says. "The plan is to jump onto the building with our parachutes, then we use the trap-door on the top to get inside. Beetee has made a twin key for the door. Now, we don't know the exact whereabouts of the captives, so we will split up once we get inside." He hands us all a small portable radio. "If you find them or if you need help, use this walkie-talkie to contact someone. Expect Peacekeepers to be guarding; use your weapons. Just do it quickly and quietly so they can't alert any more guards." His tone lowers. "We don't know what condition we'll find the captives in, if they're..." he trails off, but we know what he means. "leave them behind. We can't save them. We need to make this as fast as possible. But, if they are still alive, no matter the injuries, get them out of there as fast as possible. Everyone got it?"

"Yes Sir." We all chime in, lining up to jump out. Crisp hands me a parachute and I attach it tightly to myself as Boggs starts counting down.

"Jumping in Five, Four, Three, Two, One." I launch myself off of the hovercraft floor down through the clouds. The only thing I can do is hope that I'll land on the roof. For a few brief seconds, I panic and fling my arms around wildly by my side. I calm myself and try to focus on the roof. My feet hit the top and I stand up, unhooking my parachute and stuffing it into the pack hung over my shoulder. I look around to see that Boggs and Crisp have landed, but Flagg is having trouble maneuvering himself with his heavy equipment. I shake my head, exasperated. We had tried to convince him that he could take care of whatever injuries there were back on the hovercraft, but the doctor wouldn't relent. Finally, he lands and we all follow Boggs through the trap-door. A Peacekeeper stands alert on the inside of the door, but Crisp takes care of him quickly with his knife.

Once we're inside and have examined the surrounding area, Boggs faces us again and gives us last instructions. "Hawthorn." I stand at attention. "You're with Crisp. Flagg and I will go together. When you find them, notify me and Flagg right away. We will do likewise. There are probably security cameras everywhere, so hurry."

I nod. "Yes Sir."

Boggs and Flagg take the left hall and Crisp and I take the right hall through the dark alley. We sneak up on a pair of drunk Peacekeepers and slit their throats hurriedly, then move on. We have just reached a dead end when my earpiece crackles to life. Apparently Crisp's does too, because he presses his hand to it and listens earnestly. The sound of Boggs' voice come statically in it. "We found them. Left hall. Take a left, then two rights." The words come in short, choppy breathes. "We're taking Peeta out now. Hurry, more Peacekeepers are coming." Then the line goes dead and we take off back to the door where we started. Once we get there, we sprint down the left hall, following the directions Boggs instructed. We take out a group of Peacekeepers on the way, although we know there will be many more if we don't hurry. Finally, we come to three prison cells separated from each other by brick walls. The first cell is empty and loud wails come from the last one. Sergeant Crisp runs to the end and starts ramming the lock with his weapons.

I look into the second cell and see the famous Johanna Mason sprawled out on the cold, dirty floor. I break my eyes from the sorry sight and focus on breaking the lock with the sledgehammer in my pack. Vaguely, I glimpse Crisp running by with a crying Annie Cresta in his arms, with shouts to hurry. Finally, I unlock it and swing the metal door open and hurry inside. Outside, Johanna looked pitiful, but inside, her image is heartbreaking. Her long, brown hair has been shaved off, her thin body is bruised with purple and blue marks, her arm is contorted in an odd position, and her completion is deathly pale. Her forehead creases in pain even as she lays passed out on the ground.

Her lips move and she whispers something so quietly that I have to lean down to hear her. "I won't tell." she rasps.

I feel a compassion and admiration to this woman who refused to give in, despite the beatings inflicted upon her. Carefully, I lift her mangled body into my arms and carry her out of the blood-stained cell. I hear an angry mob of Peacekeepers coming from the right hall, so I run the rest of the way out. When I get onto the roof, I see that they have lowered a ladder down along with a harness. Johanna's eyes flutter open painfully, even this small action hurts her.

"You're okay." I say, as I finish strapping her securely to the harness. "Help is here." She tries to say something, but fails. I can just make out the word she mouths with an attempt at a smirk as she goes up into the air.

"Finally".

And then I know that she'll be fine. Sarcastic, snarky, and vicious Johanna is still there.

She's still fighting.


End file.
